21x06 - Gel Caps, Playground Spring Riders, Frozen Pancakes, Natural Rubber

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: liquid medication
used to always come in a bottle,

And you had to pour
your dose with a steady hand

Into a spoon.

Today, many medications
and supplements

Come inside
small food-safe casings

That are easy to swallow
and portable --

Soft gel capsules.

Many types of products
come in gel capsules,

From prescription drugs

To health supplements
such as fish oils.

Many of these medicine fills
go bad if exposed to oxygen,

So the gel cap,
besides being convenient,

Also serves
as a protective barrier.

Every ingredient
in both the gel cap

And the medicine fill inside

Undergoes
extensive testing for purity.

The first test phase checks
for bacterial contamination.

Lab technicians dissolve
the ingredients in solution,

Apply it to a food source
in a petri dish,

Then incubate
the dish for 72 hours

To encourage
any existing bacteria to grow.

Then they draw samples and
examine them under a microscope.

If those samples
are bacteria-free,

The ingredient moves on
to the second phase of testing,

Which checks for contaminants
such as lead, arsenic,

Mercury, and cadmium.

This machine,
called a spectrometer,

Injects the ingredient solution
into a plasma flame,

Then, by reading the changes
in light wavelengths,

Analyzes
the chemical composition.

If the ingredient
is contaminant-free,

It gets the go-ahead.

The gel cap is made entirely
of natural ingredients --

Gelatin derived
from beef bones,

Palm oil glycerin,

And purified water.

The proportions are top-secret.

An industrial blender combines
the three ingredients

To a uniform consistency,

Then heats the mixture
to 175 degrees fahrenheit.

A vacuum sucks out
the air bubbles

As this now-ready gel material
flows into a holding tank.

Simultaneously, they prepare
the medicine fill --

In this case, vitamin d.

They combine it with soybean oil

To adjust the potency
to the specified strength.

Meanwhile, they maintain
the gel-cap material

In the holding tank
at 140 degrees fahrenheit

To prevent it
from prematurely solidifying.

Even the hose leaving that tank
is wrapped in heater tape

To keep the gel liquid.

A separate hose feeds
the vitamin d solution

From another holding tank

Down to the production floor,
as well.

This hose doesn't
require heating

Because vitamin d and soybean
oil don't solidify when cool.

On the production line,
two stations simultaneously

Spread a thin layer
of molten gel

Across a cooling drum.

The gel hardens into
a solid, yet malleable, sheet

About the thickness
of cardboard.

Each sheet passes over
a rotating die

With capsule-shaped cavities.

Just before the two gel sheets
come together,

Pumps inject
the required quantity

Of vitamin d solution
into each cavity,

The pressure pushing
the gelatin into the cavity.

At the same time,
the machine heats the gel sheets

So that when they meet,
they adhere to each other,

Forming full capsules

With the vitamin d solution
sealed inside.

In the final second,

The die's sharp edges slice
the gel caps free,

And they fall
to a conveyer belt below.

At this point,

The filled gel caps contain
a fair bit of moisture,

So they're quite soft.

If they lay
on a surface too long,

They'd flatten,

So the conveyer belt whisks them
very quickly

Into a rotating drum,

Where they tumble
in slightly cold, dry air

For about three hours.

This removes enough moisture
to make the gel caps hard enough

To lie on a surface
without Fl*ttening.

After exiting, the gel caps move
into a second dryer,

Where,
spread out on trays this time,

They dry for about 36 hours.

After that,

The gel caps are hard enough
to be safely packaged.

The gel caps --

The ones being packaged here
contain flax oil --

Travel down a series
of vibrating plates,

Which progressively line them up
in single file.

As they pass by,

Electronic eyes count out
the number

Of capsules per bottle,

Triggering the filling mechanism
to collect that quantity

And release it
into an empty bottle.

The next station applies
a plastic twist cap,

Then the bottles move onward,

Each one plowing
directly into the center

Of an adhesive-backed label,

Which rollers then apply
around he sides.

Before shipping,

The quality-control lab tests
random samples

From the production batch

To verify that the gel caps
meet all specifications.

Narrator:
it's a playground staple --

A stationary
ride-on cartoon animal

That bounces up and down
and rocks back and forth,

Courtesy of
a huge spring underneath

Secured into the ground.

The bouncy coil base
is what gives this type

Of playground equipment
its name -- a spring rider.

The spring rider
is a playground favorite.

To withstand years
of rambunctious riders,

It has to be solid and durable,

Yet for a toddler to be able
to rock back and forth,

It can't be too heavy.

That's why the spring is made
of thick steel,

And the animal
of lightweight aluminum.

That sand core
is comprised of two halves,

Each made
with an aluminum mold --

Duck-shaped in this case.

Workers fill it
with sand and adhesive mix

That sets into a solid block.

They insert
several steel support rods,

Fill to the top,
and even out the surface,

Then expose two hooks
they'll later grab

To extract the core half
once the sand hardens

In about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, other workers use
an aluminum pattern

To make each half
of the duck casting mold.

After applying
a powder release agent

To prevent sticking,

They cover the pattern

With a sieved mixture
of sand and clay.

They mount a frame
around the pattern

To contain the sand,

As they add more and more,

Repeatedly packing it down
in all areas

With a pneumatic ramming tool.

Then they remove the frame

And cover the sand
with a wooden board.

This provides
a hard surface for the press,

Which now applies the weight
of about four mid-sized s.u.v.s.

Then they flip over the mold

And remove the pattern
which formed the mold cavity.

The sand
is now so firmly compacted

That it holds the shape.

One half of the sand mold
has channels

Through which the molten metal
will flow into the cavity.

Workers now position several
quarter-inch-thick foam spacers

In the cavity

And place
half of the core on top of them.

The spacers elevate the core,

Creating a quarter-inch cavity
between core and mold.

The other half of the core
goes on top.

After placing spacers
on top of that

To create a quarter-inch gap
on this side, as well,

They carefully lower
the other half of the sand mold.

Now they're ready
to cast the duck.

The melting point of aluminum

Is just over


However, they heat much higher,
to 1,400 degrees,

So it'll flow faster
and fill the entire cavity

Before beginning to solidify.

They pour the metal
through holes on top.

It flows through the runners
into the mold cavity,

Which is that quarter-inch gap

Surrounding
the duck-shaped core.

About 20 minutes later, the
metal has cooled and solidified.

They break the mold apart
on a vibrating sieve,

Releasing the aluminum duck
and shaking out the core sand

Through a hole
at the bottom of the duck.

After cutting off
excess aluminum

That hardened in the runners,

They grind down the seam,

Which formed in between
the two halves of the mold.

Next, they weld on
aluminum handles

For the child
to grip when riding.

These handles are cast in
sand molds just like the duck.

Workers grind down
the weld and any sharp edges,

Making the entire surface
nice and smooth.

Next --
a coat of polyester powder

In bright rubber-ducky yellow.

Then -- a 20-minute trip
through an oven

To bake the coating,
making it ultra-durable.

Now, delicately airbrushed
with the urethane enamel paint,

The details
that bring mr. Duck to life --

His feet, wings, bill, and eyes.

The thick coil
that makes this a spring rider

Is made
of a flexible type of steel.

They bolt
a steel spacer plate to it...

...then hide the bolts
under an aluminum cover.

After attaching a foot rest --
steel, again --

They bolt the duck to the plate.

All these parts,
like the duck, are painted

With baked-on polyester coating.

The spring bolts to a concrete
block buried underground.

Ducky and friends
are designed to withstand

Even the harshest winters,

Letting children enjoy
a little spring all year round.

Narrator: early versions of
pancakes were thin like crepes.

By the 1780s, american cooks
were adding a leavening agent

For a fluffier,
more filling pancake.

That's when pancakes
transitioned from side dish

To main course
for the first meal of the day.

Call them hot cakes, griddle
cakes, flapjacks, or pancakes,

There's nothing
like a heaping helping of them

Splashed with syrup.

And with frozen pancakes,

Whipping up some for breakfast
has never been easier.

Pancake production starts off
with a leavening agent --

The baking powder.

They combine salt, whey,
and various flavorings

In a big blender

To create
a dry-ingredient premix.

Since these will be
buttermilk pancakes,

They add
powdered buttermilk for flavor.

They now pump liquid ingredients
from storage tanks

Into a huge blender.

These include water and eggs,

Sweet cream, liquefied sugar,

And soybean oil.

They add
the dry premix and flour

Until the batter reaches
the desired consistency.

An employee tests
the batter's viscosity

By pouring some
in a device with a little gate.

He opens the gate and measures
the flow down a ramp.

If it runs
too thick or too thin,

It won't produce pancakes

That are the desired diameter
and uniformity.

The pancake batter passes
the viscosity test.

They release the batter
from the holding tank,

And it flows
into a depositor system.

The depositor has nine nozzles.

Each nozzle shoots an exact
amount of the pancake batter

Onto a hot moving griddle.

Because of
the perfect viscosity,

Each deposit of batter radiates
out to form a neat, round shape,

Each one the same size
as the next --

About four inches in diameter.

They run three depositors and
moving griddles simultaneously

To produce


That's an incredible


After several seconds
on the griddle,

One side is cooked,

So automated stainless-steel
spatulas flip the pancakes over.

There are two sets of flippers.

After flipping,
the first set repositions,

And the second set flips
the next row of pancakes.

It's mechanized synchronization.

The flippers are spaced apart
exactly as the depositors are

So the pancakes arrive at the
flippers in the correct order

To be picked up and turned over.

Once flipped,

The pancakes continue
along the cooking conveyer,

And the other side is cooked.

It's a short ride
for these pancakes

To be completely cooked.

From dollops of batter

To uniformly rounded
and cooked pancakes,

This process has taken
just 90 seconds.

The pancakes somersault off
the cooking griddle

And over a roller
to land on the next conveyer.

The somersault exit
has a purpose.

It keeps the pancakes from
folding over so they land flat.

Hot off the griddles, the
pancakes cool down on the ride,

As all three production lines
merge

And head into a freezer.

Inside the freezer,

It's a very frigid
minus-18 degrees,

And the pancakes freeze fast.

Now it's over
to the packaging line.

This is where the uniformity
of these pancakes pays off.

Their similar diameter means
they can be neatly packed

In groups of six.

Machinery seals two stacks
of six frozen pancakes

In one wrapping.

It has taken
less than five minutes

To prepare, freeze,
and package these pancakes.

At home,
prep time in the microwave

Should be mere seconds.

Just add syrup, and
this story has a sweet ending.

Narrator:
natural rubber comes from the
milky sap of a tropical tree.

Thousands of years ago,

The native people
of central and south america

Discovered that the hardened sap
was elastic and bounced.

They played games
with the ba*ls of sap.

When european explorers
came along,

It was soon
a whole new ball game.

Today, we make
thousands of useful things

From the fluid that circulates
through rubber trees --

Everything from tires
to balloons to boots.

The seeds are sewn
on plantations

Like this one in thailand.

It takes several years
for the rubber trees to mature,

Then the sap is ready to tap.

In the coolness of the morning,
when the sap flows freely,

The farm worker slashes
the bark with a hook blade.

The sap oozes from the abrasion.

It spills onto a metal spout

Inserted
below the slashed section.

The spout funnels the sap
into a ceramic cup below.

It flows
for about five or six hours,

Partially filling the cup.

They wait a couple of days
for the tree to recover

And then tap
another section of the tree.

After straining impurities,

They pour the rubber sap
into a plastic tub.

They add formic acid
and swish it around.

The acid causes
the sap to coagulate.

After 15 to 30 minutes,

It thickens
to the consistency of tofu.

This tofu-like sap has
a sticky structure

That allows it
to now be rolled out like dough.

The rolling squeezes out
excess water

And leaves
a ribbed pattern on the sheets

That increases the surface area
to hasten drying.

Then they rinse off
the formic acid.

They hang the rubber sheets
to dry for about five hours.

As they dry, the rubber thickens
and becomes stronger,

And the color darkens.

The coagulated rubber sap
has been transformed.

In a few short steps, it's gone
from a liquid to a solid.

Workers pile
the rubber sheets onto pallets

And weigh the load.

There's a little over a ton and
a half of rubber in this stack.

They store
the stacks in a warehouse

Until the next stage
of processing.

When they're ready to move on,

Workers peel
each sheet from the stack

And soak them in water
for about 20 minutes.

This washes away some
of the surface contaminants,

But not all.

The rubber sheets then go
into a machine with many brushes

That scrub off more of the dirt.

After one more rinse, the
rubber sheets are squeaky-clean.

As you can see, the color of
the rubber sheets vary somewhat

Depending
on the tree they came from,

Their thickness,
and other factors.

They hang
the sheets on racks to drip dry.

Next, they build
a fire in a brick oven

And smoke the rubber sheets
in a chamber overhead

For five days.

It's a slow,
low-temperature smoking

That preserves the sheets
to prevent the growth of mold.

After smoking,
they clip out contaminants

Like bark or insects that have
become imbedded in the rubber.

In many cases,
they can't get it all.

They grade the rubber sheets
by examining them

Against a bright light.

Sheets with fewer
remaining contaminants

Receive a higher rating

And will command a better price.

They stack the sheets
according to the grade,

And then
it's into a hydraulic bailer.

It presses the stack of
rubber sheets into cube form.

The dimensions of the cubes

Conform to international
packaging regulations

So they'll fit neatly
into containers for shipping.

They spray the rubber cubes

With a mix of calcium carbonate
and solvent.

The mixture forms
a film on the cubes

That prevents mold

And keeps them
from sticking together

During transport.

This rubber is now ready
for the next factory

And the next transformation.

It could become almost anything.